Consecutive victories of the international coalition over ISIS have rendered the terror group weak, depleted, crippled, and defeated with no significant ground to claim as its so-called Islamic State “caliphate” and nothing more than a bleak end in sight. Despite the remarkable security successes and the liberation of previously occupied territory in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, the US-led coalition has renewed its commitment to the relentless pursuit of ISIS until the group’s complete annihilation.
Following a brief interruption of operations, the U.S.-led coalition to defeat ISIS started launching large-scale operations to combat IS militants in Syria once more amid increased danger from the group’s attacks. On November 23, Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve announced that on the day before, coalition forces completed a clearance mission in eastern Syria’s Deir ez-Zor that led to multiple ISIS casualties. More than a dozen ISIS fighters were captured, but officials provided no specific numbers regarding fatalities and injuries. OIR also said that a significant amount of small arms, homemade explosives and ammunition were recovered in the clearance operation.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Eric Hill, commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve, said the coalition’s special operations branch “remains committed to our relentless pursuit of Daesh.” In a statement released by the coalition on November 23, Hill said, “As long as Daesh presents a threat, we must stay vigilant to prevent it, for the sake of the region and our homelands.”
Meanwhile, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters there will be an uptick in operations against ISIS and noted that there is no foreseeable “end date” for when U.S. troops would vacate Syria, adding that “over the next days and weeks, the pace will pick back up against the remnants of ISIS”.
The acceleration of operations against ISIS in Syria aims at preventing the terror group from revamping its operations in the country. The coalition is determined to enhance its counterterrorism pressure in order to cripple ISIS’s ability to conduct transnational attacks and cultivate its covert networks.
